In the Rain
by A Gentle Intoxication
Summary: Shikamaru is dieing and Temari doesn't know what to do about it. My first try at a one shot, plz tell me what you think! rated t for some language.


"Shikamaru!" Temari called in distress, eyes wide in terror. Her hair was down and already being drenched by the unrelenting downpour. Her bones shook, along with the rest of her entire body. With a deft burst of speed, Temari rushed over to where the other shinobi was falling, grabbing him right before he hit the muddy ground. "Shikamaru!" She cried again, wiping away a stray strand of dark hair from his bloodied face.

Shikamaru coughed up a small spurt of blood as his eyes shut, due to the excruciating pain he was experiencing. The blood flew onto Temari, and yet she didn't care. A tiny blotch landed directly below her left eye, the rest splattering all over her front. She didn't care. All that mattered to her now was the lone shinobi in her arms, slowly bleeding to what would be almost certain death.

"Why the hell did you do that?!" She screamed, laying him down gently so that she could quickly assess what she needed to do to help him out to recover. She carefully tore a small portion of the cloak that she had brought due to the rain, and wrapped in tightly over a large gash in the lower portion of his calf, creating a makeshift bandage. When no reply came from him, Temari grew even more frightened. "Answer me!" She shouted again.

Shikamaru's right eye opened a fragment, allowing her to read exactly what he was going to say, even before it left his blood stained mouth. "Wouldn't you—?" He trailed off, closing the eye back to how it was previously. His breathing was regulating again. It was a good sign.

Temari came back up to his face and wiped away a small portion of the grit on his forehead. "Come on, Nara," She said absently as she continued to analyze his wounds. "Come on—"

His left leg was roughly hacked from the enemy's last attack, and both of his arms seemed useless. A long trail of blood emerged from the top of his face, indicating a definite head wound. Temari cringed when she unzipped his forest green vest and severed through his black shirt, revealing quite a large gash from one shoulder to the lower left side of his stomach, directly below a previous wound he had gained on the last mission that had reopened, and was now spilling and contributing to the major blood loss.

All that mattered right now was him…

"Are you done yet?"

Temari heard a low pitched voice call out from behind her. Realization came to her as she remembered just how Shikamaru had even acquired his numerous amounts of injuries. How could she have forgotten? Temari turned to face him.

He smiled back at her. "Good, it took you long enough. Hadn't you realized that he was going to die at the beginning?" The shinobi asked, twirling a curved dagger between his fingers. His grin grew sadistic as he skillfully threw the blade aimed straight towards Shikamaru's head.

With a swift flick of her hand, Temari grabbed a kunai from her pouch behind her and moved to block the strike at her companion's life.

"What the hell are you doing, Temari?" A second shinobi suddenly appeared beside the first. His hair stood back in a long black tail that he pulled over his left shoulder, and he wore his forehead protector around his neck. The forehead protector bearing the symbol of the sand.

Temari flung back a furious expression. "I should be asking you two the same thing! Why the hell did you attack us?" Temari cried, rage building up behind her pained eyes. "Why?!" She called out again.

The second shinobi of the sand smirked. "You should know better than to ask us that, Temari-sama. Weren't you the one always scolding us for letting our emotions hold the better of us?"

Temari froze as the rain slowly subsided into a gentle sprinkle, than cease to fall.

The first man continued from where his companion ended. "Tsubaki is right, Temari-sama. You've been spending too much time thinking about that lazy ass from Konoha that you can't even pay attention to your opponent anymore." He complained, "God, I could've killed you so many times while you were treating him, and he isn't even going to make it!" He chuckled.

Tsubaki grinned, "If you ask me, I think we should just kill him now."

Temari snapped. "Don't you dare touch him!" Her voice cracked with the strain. What could she do to save him? She thought about it over and over again, always coming up with the same answer; nothing.

Shikamaru groaned into the silence, gaining back Temari's attention.

"Come on, it's not like she can do anything for him, Hakabi. Let's just go." Tsubaki smirked. "She'll come back when she's done crying." He knew that it would hit a nerve.

"I'm not crying!" She shouted, anger tracing every syllable. "Just you wait! I'll hunt you down if you leave, you fucking coward!" Temari swore, letting her hand fall back onto the large fan behind her.

"Whatever." Hakabi waved off as the two disappeared into nothingness.

"Come back! Temari screeched, feeling tears swell up in her eyes. "Come back you fucking cowards!" She wouldn't let them fall. Tears were a weakness. Emotion in general was a weakness. Though, hadn't she already shown that? What was a couple of tears…?

No. She would not let them fall…

Back to what she had started before… "Why the hell did you jump in like that!?" She scolded, "You know I could have blocked it!"

Shikamaru chuckled softly behind blood stained lips. "Do you think I'm someone who would have risked my life for something I know you could escape?" He inquired gently, making his point quite clear; He had risked his life for a reason, not for some show of manliness.

She could slightly hear the soft whisper of thunder in the background. She could feel the rain preparing to fall.

"Temari…" Shikamaru started, struggling to recover enough strength to speak again.

The rain wouldn't come…

"Yes?" she replied, searching his face for any sign of improvement. She found no such thing.

She wouldn't let it fall…

"I've realized something— recently." He fought with great effort. "No matter how hard a cloud may try, it can't prevent the rain from falling." He smiled as his eyes shut for a moment. "The longer the cloud holds it in, the harder it will fall…" He was gone.

And the rain fell.

Fin.


End file.
